Customized on-line user guide

ABSTRACT

A method and a system for providing automated information to a subscriber of a mobile telecommunications system in which a request for information is received on a mobile telecommunications system from a mobile communications device, such as a cellular telephone or a personal communications device. A type of mobile communication device from which the request for information is received is determined by accessing a mobile communications device profile based on an ESN and an MIN associated with the mobile communications device. The requested information is then sent to the mobile communications device. The requested information is context specific to the type of mobile communications device from which the request for information is received.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/956,130,filed Oct. 22, 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,940.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a method and a system forproviding automated information to users of a mobile communicationssystem.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mobile, or wireless, telecommunications service providers offer avariety of services to subscribers, such as call forwarding andvoice-mail messaging. As the number of services grow, it is increasinglydifficult for subscribers to remember how to access all of the featuresof a particular service from a mobile telephone because feature codesare usually numeric values, such as *56 or *71, having no apparentassociation with a particular feature. Similarly, some features areinfrequently accessed by a subscriber, such as changing call forwardingwhen going on vacation, and are not readily remembered.

One approach to overcome this problem that has been tried by some mobiletelecommunications service providers is to distribute printed handbooksto subscribers. This approach has met with limited success because it isnot realistic to expect subscribers to carry and refer to such ahandbook.

Some mobile telecommunications service providers have tried to addressthe problem of providing help information by providing a “611” numberthat connects a subscriber to a customer service representative.Nevertheless, it is desirable to automate customer help service as muchas possible so that subscribers are not required to wait for a customerservice representative.

Providing automated help via telephone or other electroniccommunications system is well-known. In such a systems a user enters aninformation request using either DTMF tones or spoken words that arerecognized using well-known speech recognition techniques. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,183 to Bareis et al. discloses a cellulartelecommunications system that uses spoken commands for dialingtelephone calls. The Bareis et al. system includes a speaker-dependentspeech recognition system that performs customized functions based onthe MIN of the subscriber. Pre-recorded instructional messages aregenerated by the system for instructing a subscriber on progress inusing the system, such as prompts like “Ready for command”, and “Phonenumber please”. While the Bareis et al. system provides automated helpfor customizing dialing functions in response to spoken commands, theBareis et al. system does not respond to a request for information abouta specific service function or feature.

Further, help information is typically most needed when a subscriber isroaming into another market area that provides different features andfeature codes than offered in the subscriber's home market. For example,in the situation when a subscriber roams into a market area thatprovides a Do Not Disturb (DND) service from a market area that does notprovide such a service, dialing 611 may not provide the subscriber withthe desired help information because a 611 call will be routed to acustomer service facility for the visited market and may not provide thesame interface capability as the customer service facility of thesubscriber's home market.

Another related problem associated with providing automating helpservices for wireless subscribers is that each different wirelesstelephone type of model potentially accesses service features in adifferent way. Consequently, automation of help service functionsbecomes complicated because different subscribers need different helpexplanations based on their terminal equipment. Providing contextsensitive help information in a computer system environment iswell-known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,323 to Miller et al.discloses a system for providing help to computer system users.According to Miller et al., context sensitive help is tailored to theneeds of individual users. Nevertheless, Miller et al. does not disclosethat help information can be provided based on the equipment used by theuser requesting the help information. Further, Miller et al. is directedto a computer system environment, not a telecommunications systemenvironment.

What is needed is a way to provide automated help information tosubscribers of a mobile telecommunications system that is contextsensitive with respect to the mobile terminal equipment being used by asubscriber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and a system for providingautomated help information to subscribers of a mobile telecommunicationssystem that is context sensitive with respect to the mobile terminalequipment being used by a subscriber. Thus, a subscriber canconveniently obtain answers for the following exemplary questions aboutservices without calling a customer service representative: How do Istore a telephone number in memory? How do I retrieve a telephone numberfrom memory. How do I read a text message? How do I store a textmessage? What capabilities does the cellular network have for CallingNumber ID?

The advantages of the present invention are provided by a method and asystem for providing automated information to a subscriber of a mobiletelecommunications system in which a request for information is receivedon a mobile telecommunications system from a mobile communicationsdevice, such as a cellular telephone or a personal communicationsdevice. A type of mobile communication device from which the request forinformation is received is determined by accessing a mobilecommunications device profile based on an ESN and an MIN associated withthe mobile communications device. The requested information is then sentto the mobile communications device. According to the invention, therequested information is context specific to the type of mobilecommunications device from which the request for information isreceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the accompanying figures in which like reference numeralsindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a mobile telecommunicationssystem providing an automated help service according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram for a process of providing an automated helpservice for a mobile telecommunications system according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a automated help service to subscribersof a mobile, or wireless, telecommunications system that is contextsensitive with respect to the particular type of mobile terminal deviceused by subscriber requesting help information. According to theinvention, a subscriber requests help by pressing a predetermined key orsequence keys on the keypad, such as *help (*4357). The subscriber isthen connected to an Intelligent Peripheral (IP) platform that is partof the mobile telecommunications system. The IP platform performs adatabase query, based on the ESN and the MIN associated with thesubscriber for accessing a profile associated with the subscriber, fordetermining the type of terminal device being used by the subscriber.Based on the results of the query, the IP platform generates automatedresponses, customized for the particular terminal device being used bythe subscriber, for providing requested help information.

The present invention provides subscribers of a wirelesstelecommunications system with a capability of obtaining automatedon-line help information about wireless service features without beingrequired to speak to a customer service representative. The on-line helpservice of the present invention provides specific information aboutparticular wireless services that are available to a subscriber, such asdetails regarding an unconditional call forwarding service, and/orspecific feature codes, such as *71. Preferably, the on-line helpinformation can be accessed via the mobile terminal device and via theInternet.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a mobile telecommunicationssystem 10 providing an automated help service according to the presentinvention. Mobile telecommunications system 10 includes a MobileTelephone Switching Office (MTSO) 11 connected to a plurality of basestations (BS) 12 in a well-known manner. System 10 includes a pluralityof MTSOs, even though only one MTSO is shown. Mobile stations (MS) 13,or mobile terminal devices, communicate with a nearby base station in awell-known manner using wireless communication links 14. Each mobileterminal device, such as a cellular telephone or a personalcommunications device, is uniquely identified by two numbers: anelectronic serial number (ESN) encoded in the phone by its manufacturer,and a mobile identification number (MIN), which is the mobile telephonenumber programmed within the mobile telecommunications system. As usedherein, a wireless or mobile communications system means a cellular, asatellite or a personal communications network environment.

An Intelligent Peripheral (IP) platform 15 is connected to MTSO 11 is awell-known manner. IP platform 15 includes a control unit 16 coupled toa database 17 that stores mobile communications device profileinformation for each subscriber of system 10. In operation, control unit16 receives a request for help information from a mobile communicationsdevice 13 over system 10. Control unit 16 determines a type of mobilecommunication device from which the request for help information isreceived based on accessing a profile for the mobile communicationsdevice stored in database 17. IP platform 15 then sends requested helpinformation to the requesting mobile communications device. The helpinformation sent by IP platform 15 is made context specific based on thetype of mobile communications device from which the request wasreceived.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram 20 for a process for providing an automatedhelp service to a mobile telecommunications system subscriber accordingto the present invention. A wireless subscriber dials a special accessnumber, such as, a three digit number, an “800” number, or “*HELP”,etc., for accessing the automated on-line help information service ofthe present invention from a mobile terminal 13. The help informationrequest call is routed to Intelligent Peripheral (IP) platform 15, whichreceives the call at step 21. At step 22, control unit 16 makes a queryto database 17 for obtaining a user profile based on the ESN and the MINreceived with the help request call.

At step 23, control unit 16 generates a menu providing the requestingsubscriber with the ability to request information about features of aspecific service or a specific feature code. According to the presentinvention, the menu is context specific for the equipment being used bythe requesting subscriber. Information requests are made by thesubscriber at step 24 by either entry of DTMF digits from the keypad ofthe mobile terminal device and/or by speaking voice commands. The voicecommands are recognized using well-known speech recognition techniques.In response to a request, the IP platform plays a recording providingthe wireless subscriber with the requested information that is contextspecific based on the subscriber's equipment at step 25.

The information provided by the IP platform is specifically directed tothe type of mobile terminal device 13 used by a requesting subscriber.That is, an information message such as “The feature ________ providesthe capability to ________; however, feature ________ is not availablefor your specific handset model, but is available on the AT&T DigitalPCS handsets” may be generated by IP platform 15, where ________ is theparticular network service for which help information is requested. Thehelp information message can also refer to an Internet web page asanother convenient way to access help information regarding wirelessservices available from mobile telecommunications system 10.Additionally, IP platform can provide help information that is specificto the type of wireless terminal equipment being used by the subscriber,such as help information about how to store and retrieve telephonenumbers in the memory of the handset, and how to read, store andretrieve text messages.

At step 26, the subscriber is allowed to request more information aboutother wireless features and/or feature codes. Preferably, access to theon-line help information is also available to wireless terminal userswho do not subscribe to the mobile services offered by system 10 so thatthey can experience the convenience of the on-line help information ofthe present invention and/or compare the services and features offeredby system with the services and features that are available throughtheir mobile telecommunications service provider. Alternatively, accessto the on-line help information via a mobile handset can be restrictedto existing subscribers to the wireless network depending on the dialingpattern that is required for accessing the on-line help information.

Any existing or potential wireless subscribers are able to access theon-line help information web page over the Internet 19 (FIG. 1). The webpage accessible over the Internet can part of the services provided byIP platform 15 or can be remotely located from IP platform 14.Preferably, the Internet web page provides the ability to requestinformation about a particular wireless service, a specific feature codefor a particular wireless service, all services and features supportedby the wireless network, and/or all feature codes supported by thewireless network within the context of a mobile communication devicethat is selected upon accessing the web page.

While the present invention has been described in connection with theillustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated and understood thatmodifications may be made without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing automated information to asubscriber of a mobile telecommunications system, the method comprising:receiving from the mobile communications device a request for at leastone of operating options and operating instructions for the mobilecommunication device on a mobile telecommunications system; determininga type of mobile communication device from which the request isreceived; generating at least one of operating options and operatinginstructions for the mobile communication device, the at least one ofoperating options and operating instructions being context specific tothe type of mobile communications device from which the request isreceived and based on results of the determining step; and making the atleast one of operating options and operating instructions available tothe mobile communication device via a web page.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein determining further comprises accessing a mobilecommunications device profile.
 3. The method according to claim 2,wherein receiving the request includes receiving a unique identifierassociated with the mobile communications device; and wherein accessinga mobile communications device profile is based on the uniqueidentifier.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the mobilecommunications device is a cellular telephone.
 5. The method accordingto claim 4, wherein the mobile communications device is a personalcommunications device.
 6. The method according to claim 4, whereingenerating at least one of operating options and operating instructionsfor the mobile communication device includes generating a messagecomprising the at least one of operating options and operatinginstructions.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the messageincludes information relating to a way for accessing the requestedinformation.
 8. A device for providing automated information to asubscriber of a mobile telecommunications system, the device comprising:a database containing information relating to a mobile communicationsdevice; and a control unit, coupled to the database, receiving a requestfor at least one of operating options and operating instructions for themobile communication device from a mobile telecommunications system fromthe mobile communications device, the control unit determining typeinformation for the mobile communication device from which the requestis received based on accessing a profile for the mobile communicationsdevice stored in the database, and causing the at least one of operatingoptions and operating instructions to be available to the mobilecommunications device via a web page, the at least one of operatingoptions and operating instructions being context specific to the type ofmobile communications device from which the request is received.
 9. Thedevice according to claim 8, where in the request for informationincludes a unique identifier associated with the mobile communicationsdevice, and wherein the mobile communications device profile relates tothe unique identifier associated with the mobile communications device.10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the mobile communicationsdevice is a cellular telephone.
 11. The device according to claim 9,wherein the mobile communications device is a personal communicationsdevice.
 12. The device according to claim 9, wherein the control unitgenerates a message containing the requested information.
 13. The deviceaccording to claim 12, wherein the message includes information relatingto a way for accessing the requested information.
 14. The device ofclaim 8 wherein the requested information is help information.
 15. Thedevice of claim 8 wherein the requested information is help information.16. A method for providing automated information to a subscriber of amobile telecommunications system, the method comprising: receiving at amobile telecommunications system, an ID message and a request for atleast one of operating options and operating instructions for a mobilecommunications device; determining type information for the mobilecommunication device based on the ID message; using the type informationand the request, accessing from a database at least one of operatingoptions and operating instructions that is context specific to themobile communications device; and including in a web page the at leastone of operating options and operating instructions to the mobilecommunications device.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:generating a menu in response to the accessing of information andproviding information about plural features of the mobile communicationsdevice.
 18. The method of claim 16 wherein the request is for helpinformation.
 19. A system for providing automated information to asubscriber of a mobile telecommunication system, the system comprising:a database that stores information for a mobile communications device;and a control unit, coupled to the database, receiving an ID message anda request for at least one of operating options and operatinginstructions from the mobile communications device, the control unitdetermining type information for the mobile communication device basedon the ID message, the control unit accessing at least one of operatingoptions and operating instructions that is context specific to themobile communications device from the database using the typeinformation and the request, and the control unit causing the at leastone of operating options and operating instructions to the mobilecommunications device to be included in a web page.
 20. The system ofclaim 19 wherein the control unit generates a menu in response to theaccessing of information and provides the menu to the mobilecommunications device for accessing the web page information aboutfeatures of the mobile communications device.
 21. The system of claim 19wherein the request is for help information.
 22. A method for providingautomated information to a subscriber of a mobile telecommunicationssystem, the method comprising: receiving a request for help informationon a mobile telecommunications system from a mobile communicationsdevice; determining a type of mobile communication device from which therequest for information is received; and causing the requested helpinformation to be included in a web page, the requested informationbeing context specific to the type of mobile communications device fromwhich the request for information is received.
 23. A method forproviding automated information to a subscriber of a mobiletelecommunications system, the method comprising: receiving a requestfor help information on a mobile telecommunications system from a mobilecommunications device; determining a type of mobile communication devicefrom which the request for information is received; and including in aweb page a menu for selecting the requested help information, the menubeing context specific to the type of mobile communications device fromwhich the request for information is received.
 24. A method forproviding automated information to a subscriber of a mobiletelecommunications system, the method comprising: receiving a requestfor help information on a mobile telecommunications system from a mobilecommunications device; determining a type of mobile communication devicefrom which the request for information is received; including in a webpage a menu of help options to the mobile communications device;receiving a selection from the menu; and sending specific helpinformation to the mobile communications device in response to theselection, the specific help information being context specific to thetype of mobile communications device from which the request for helpinformation is received.